Category: Business Leader

When you talk of online trading in china then the name Richard Liu Qiangdong cannot be omitted. Richard Liu is the founder and the chief executive officer of JD.com also known as the JingDong Mall. JD.com is the leading e-commerce platform in China and in the world at large. This company was founded in 2003. Liu’s entrepreneurship journey is an inspirational one as he started from the bottom and now he is one of the renowned businessmen in China. He is also a billionaire as per Forbes listing 2019 with net worth of $ 5.3 billion.

Richard Liu was born in 1973 in Suqian, China a province known as Jiangsu. He is a holder of bachelor’s degree in sociology which he got it from Renmin University, China. After completion of his undergraduate studies in 1996, he joined China Europe International School and pursued computer programming and later graduated with an EMBA. See This Article for more information.

Richard Liu started practicing his entrepreneurship skills while he was still a university student. He started by venturing into a restaurant business by investing his little cash which he earned from family loans and his side hustles. Unfortunately, his business collapsed after some months. After Richard Liu Qiangdong completed his studies, he worked with one of Japanese health product enterprise as a director of business and computers. After gaining some working experience, Rich launched his own company, Jing dong mall and served as a supplier of magneto optical products, in 1998.

His business was doing well and he had 12 stores countywide by 2003 when he faced a big challenge as a result of the SARS outbreak. This outbreak forced staff and clients to stay at home and at this juncture Richard Liu had to think outside the box. Since Liu was knowledgeable in the field of computer programming, Liu launched his online retail website in 2004 and this ensured his clients were able to access services and products while they are in their houses. It is in the same year when he launched the JD.Com which is now the leading online trading website in china. Today Richard Liu is the leading entrepreneur in China.

Vinod “Vin” Gupta was born on the 4th of July sometime during the mid-40s. He was born in a village north of New Delhi a short distance from Saharanpur. Vin Gupta grew up with only basic needs of food, water, and shelter. The availability of electricity, good roads, constant running water, and normal toilets was but a luxury to him.

Around 1964, Vin Gupta joined the Indian Air Force and he became a Flying Officer in the Engineering Department. Vin Gupta left the Air Force after 3 years, in 1967 having served as the leader of the 14th Squadron. Following his simplistic high school education in one of the schools in the village, Vin Gupta was lucky enough to be able to join I.I.T.

Kharagpur, taking on a degree major in the field of agricultural engineering. Vinod graduated in the same year with a B.Tech degree. Following his graduation, Vin Gupta was granted a position and a graduate internship at the University of Nebraska in the Department of Agricultural Engineering, which by then was under the sole management of Professor Bill Splinter. Dr. Splinter who discovered Vinod Gupta while he was in India teaching temporarily.

After graduating from the University of Nebraska, Vin Gupta relocated to Omaha, and he was able to get work as a marketing analyst at Commodore Corporation; a manufacturer of mobile homes that has over 10 factories within the US.

During his tenure at the company, Vinod Gupta was assigned to analyze the performance of their competitors. To come up with a solution, Vin Gupta acquired the list of all the mobile home dealer companies within the US.

After he got this work, he began to feel as if he could do more and in light of this, he went to a bank and borrowed $100 which he used to print out the list he gave to his company for free, only this time, he sold it to all the rival companies and he got over 100% and that’s how he began his life in business! See This Article to learn more.

The world of e-commerce has been expanding at a rapid pace in the last few years, and one of the companies that have been contributing majorly to the transformation that has been taking place in the e-commerce space is JD. The company was started by Richard Liu Qiangdong in the year 2004, even though he started selling products through the physical stores much before that. He achieved a lot of success by selling products through the stores, but due to the situation of the country during the SARS outbreak, Richard was left with very little options to continue with his business strategy. He decided that it is time he took some major business decisions and switched from selling offline to shifting the entire business online.

Thus, JD.com was created, which went on to become a full-category online retail store and sold not only consumer electronics but also other consumer goods. The marketing strategy implemented by Richard at the time helped JD in pushing its rank in the e-commerce industry. Richard Liu Qiangdong studied sociology from the famous People’s University of China and then went on to study business from the reputed Chinese institute named China Europe School of Business. Go To This Page for more information.

Richard Liu Qiangdong always wanted to become a businessman and start a business venture of his own, and it is for this reason he always looked out for business opportunities. The first business venture he started was a restaurant, but it went on to be a failure. However, he didn’t give up and continued to exploit his business skills to unearth new opportunities in the financial world. Today, Liu Qiangdong is amongst the wealthiest Chinese on the planet worth over twelve billion dollars and counting.

In an article on AACSB.edu, Liu was listed as one of the “Most Influential Leaders”. As a testament to Liu’s admirable business practices, he has received numerous national and international awards for his entrepreneurship, business influence, innovation, and leadership.

Richard Liu Qiangdong is of the opinion that JD has the potential to become number one and he is doing everything in his power to achieve that. But, to be successful, he is not only looking to beat the competition with innovation but also take care of the environment. He is introducing a new packaging system that would help the company save on packaging and also offer incentives to consumers for using such packaging.

Paul Herdsman, Co-founder, and Chief operating officer of NICE Global, has a lot to say about starting and maintaining a new business so it will succeed. We all know that starting a new business is hard work and requires a lot of dedication and know how to make it work. Herdsman owns a business solutions company, helps other companies find ways to retain more of their customers and lower their overhead to increase their revenue.

Paul Herdsman offers a variety of services for his clients to help them cut costs on customer services like answering the phone. He gives companies a live person to answer their customer’s calls.

One of the ways Paul says companies can cut costs is to retain employees long term. It costs a lot to train new employees. Making employees feel like family. Employees are more likely to stay with a company they feel treats them as part of the family than one where they think merely as an employee. Go To This Page to learn more.

Provide employees with the training they need to be successful. Don’t stop with the initial training. Instead, create continuous training that enables them to perform their jobs well. Then reward them for doing a great job based on their performance.

Recruiting the best talent is essential. Paul Herdsman has created an employee referral program within his company to help him hire the best employees for his business.

If you want to get and retain clients, Herdsman says it is crucial to solve your client’s problems. Always ask the right questions so you know the best solutions. Make sure you are talking to the right people. It is essential to include the correct people in your conversations. These are some of the tips that Herdsman has used to build a successful business over the years. If you follow these ideas, you are sure to grow a stronger and more successful business too.

In the article, “Lessons from Entrepreneur Paul Herdsman”, Herdsman shares these business lessons which he likes to share to aspiring and established business owners alike can use to be successful like himself.

National Steel Car’s new innovative line of high capacity grain hopper cars are making quite the splash. So far the two major rail lines in Canada have made heavy orders to handle incoming grain shipments. As the Transportation Modernization Act comes down hard on companies who fail to deliver on time, the light weight high capacity grain hoppers are in demand. 2018 is turning out to be a very profitable year for NSC and it can all be chalked up to the work ethic of CEO Gregory James Aziz.

Greg Aziz believes in his workforce. He listens to them, nurtures them, and provides for them. He also gives them license to be creative. One of the main precedents he set down upon acquiring National Steel Car was to the push boundaries. He wanted the rolling stock coming of the line to exceed North American standards and they have. The new grain hopper cars are a prime example of the innovation National Steel Car is capable of, and Greg Aziz fans that flame every day.

Gregory James Aziz proved his work ethic managing his parents wholesale food company Affiliated Foods. Taking over fresh out of college Aziz turned the business around. He increased profits and expanded the company into a global importer. Years later in 1994 Aziz purchased an ailing National Steel Car from Dofasco.

His goal was to turn the 100-year-old manufacturer back into the continent-wide leader it once was. In 1999 he accomplished that goal by accelerating National Steel Car’s output toi 12,500 per year. Now NSC is the cream of the crop, the leading rolling stock supplier for North America, and it shows no sign of slowing down. Especially this year with three huge contracts to fill, and a slew of new jobs being created.

National Steel Car originated in 1912. It took advantage of the expansion of North American railways and rose to greatness. In its century-long existence it has remained a profitable success. Now, in the midst of 2018 it finds itself taking advantage of perfect timing once again.

As lower capacity grain cars are filtering out, the new high capacity cars are set to become the new standard. Just as Aziz saw a need and filled it by revitalizing National Steel Car, the development department of NSC saw the need for new grain cars. So far both CN and CR rail lines have ordered over 1,000 units. See Related Link to learn more.

If you have been following business news, especially in the financial sector, you may have heard that former Pricewaterhouse Coopers’ COO Michael Burwell has been named CFO of Willis Towers Watson, a prominent multinational risk management firm with a subspecialty in insurance brokering and advisory services based in London. Before delving into his role with Willis Towers Watson, let’s take a moment to explore Burwell’s background in the business arena. Michael Burwell possesses a business acumen that is highly sought-after; in fact, it was this very attribute that ignited Willis Towers Watson’s interest in the enterprising businessman. Burwell possesses more than three decades of experience in the business world with an overwhelming majority of those years spent in auditing and transaction advisory roles. It should also be noted that, which is not entirely surprising given his affinity for the financial sector.

As far as his background is concerned, Michael Burwell is a Michigan State University alumnus who graduated with a B.A. in Business Administration. One needn’t look too far to understand why Burwell was selected to be part of Willis Towers Watson’s leadership team; Burwell’s vision for success is one that aligns with top-tier businesses seeking to gain a competitive edge, especially in the financial sector. For example, while fulfilling the role of CFO with Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Burwell was also tasked with overseeing the firm’s transaction services division, a role that showcased his penchant for multitasking along with his commitment to being a team player. These characteristics are what differentiate Burwell from many of his contemporaries and also explains why he is so well-regarded in the business world.

Having provided some background information on Michael Burwell, let’s now focus our attention on Willis Towers Watson. The firm has been hailed as a financial powerhouse after merging with US-based Towers Watson & Company. The 2016 corporate merger, valued at $18 million, has made the firm one of the few to have operations on both sides of the Atlantic. Needless to say, Willis Towers Watson is stand to benefit tremendously by onboarding Michael Burwell; his strong business acumen along with his financial aptitude perfectly complements the firm’s business philosophy, not to mention long-term goals.

The Indian-born businessman, Vinod Gupta has been one of the best investor and businessman that the world has known. He was born in 1946. He was born at a place called Tampa Maniharan.

He is also a philanthropist. Being known as the Chief Executive Officer of Infogroup, he has served the company for many years. In his education life, he graduated from high school where he later joined the Indian Institutes of technology.

Vinod Gupta then pursued agricultural engineering at the Indian Institutes of Technology, Kharagpur campus. He later joined the Indian Air Force as a flying officer in the engineering unit and achieved in being a Squadron Leader.

In his recent one on one session with Interview.net, Vinod shared that after being successful in India, he later moved to the United States of America. There he pursued a Master’s degree. He was able to achieve a scholarship to the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, where the Master’s degree in agricultural engineering and business came from. A series of doctorates is named after this man through his education life.

Vinod Gupta is the General Partner of Everest Capital Partners, Inc. in Nebraska, United States of America. With his direct involvement with The Commodore Corporation which is a mobile home manufacturer in nature of the business, Vinod Gupta identified information and databases that are managed.

He realized that he could generate a list of mobile home dealers from the yellow pages directories of the USA.

He was convinced by selling his assets, and upon the demand of small business customers, he was able to gather and categorize on the yellow pages directories. This made InfoUSA to be changed to Infogroup. Gupta founded DatabaseUSA.com. Go To This Page for related information.

Former United States President Bill Clinton noticed Gupta’s work on the Infogroup. By this remarkable achievement, Vinod Gupta has given the Counsel General to Bermuda and as well as the ambassador of the United States of America to Fiji. He later retired as chairman of InfoGroup.

Born in July 1946 in a small village in India, Vinod Gupta has gone on to become one of the most successful businessmen in the United States. His family led a simple life, and his parents worked very hard to support his education in the village where he graduated in 1962. He went on to graduate with a degree in agricultural engineering five years later.

Vinod Gupta joined the Indian Air Force in 1964 and worked for three years before resigning to go and pursue a master’s degree in the United States in the University of Nebraska with the help of a scholarship.

After completing school, he began making capital from people’s borrowed money. He started his first business with two part-time employees in 1972. His profits were dedicated to growing the business, and in 1993, it went public. Refer to This Article for related information.

The company kept on growing and by 1997 had more than $108 million in revenues and 1,500 employees. It grew to cover the whole of the USA and Canada and was eventually sold for $680 million in 2010. As a great philanthropist and businessman, Vinod Gupta has been awarded an honorary doctorate from three different universities.

Borrowing $100 from a bank and growing it into $680 million-dollar business clearly showed the business intelligence of Vinod Gupta. Gupta is also a very charitable man and supports programs and schools both in the United States and in India showing his dedication to improve other people’s lives.

Gupta still works hard today and runs a venture capital firm that supports startups especially in information and database technology. Vinod Gupta strongly believes in the power of education and has been on the forefront of championing for women’s education especially through supporting young girls.

Vinod Gupta was the Chairman of Everest Group LLC in Omaha, Nebraska. He was the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Infogroup, a technology company and started the Vinod Gupta Charitable Foundation. Today, Mr. Gupta oversees Focus Group, which is a company, which offers venture capital for database technology startups and acquires struggling businesses to make them profitable.

It is never an easy journey in career life to be the Chief Financial Officer of a widely recognized and reputed company like Willis Towers Watson. Being a CFO of any company whether large or small, there are important roles you have to accomplish with thoughtfulness and professionalism. As the CFO you have to manage a company’s finances, undertake all financial planning activities, keep records as well as analyze financial data. For Michael Burwell, this is a role he has played for many years and excelled in his endeavors.

Michael Burwell is the CFO of Willis Towers Watson, one of the widely regarded and a top global brokerage and advisory company. Mr. Burwell has been successful in his endeavors as the CFO thanks to his broad experience in the field. Prior to joining Willis Towers Watson, he is working at Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP for many decades. At PwC, Michael worked on the business advisory department and went on to work in the transaction business sector where he excelled with flying colors.

More opportunities kept opening up for Michael Burwell as he was selected to lead the transaction division in the U.S. Due to his impressive roles and good leadership skills, he was appointed the CFO and the CFO of all PwC’s business in the United States. Under his leadership, the company was able to grow its clientele base and expand its internal shared services.

As the CFO of Willis Towers Watson, Michael Burwell had the opportunity over the years to share his experiences and success stories to many people worldwide. Burwell advises investors and micro-communities to embrace technology and grow their businesses. Burwell says that he has been able to excel over the years because he has been able to interact with staff and turn ideas into reality. He also believes in networking and abides by the fact that every connection presents a chance to share ideas that are always useful in the business world.

What More to Know About Michael Burwell

Michael Burwell is a graduate of the Michigan State University where he specialized in finance and accounting. He is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Mr. Michael Burwell’s extensive experience and excellent leadership skills are an inspiration to many aspiring finance and accounting professionals out there.

Gregory James Aziz was an economics student at the Western University in Canada. His academic background paved the way for a successful career in the world of business. He has served as the CEO of the National Steel Car for more than two decades has taken this position in 1994. The firm is well known for the railroad freight cars it manufactures.

The firm is based in Hamilton, Ontario and boasts of more than 100 years in the car manufacturing industry. It was established back in 1912 and has kept its place in the top of the league thanks to its commitment to excellence in service delivery. It has made a name for itself in North America and the rest of the world for its quality services.

Given the dynamic nature of their customer needs, the firm led by Gregory J Aziz has embraced technology to enhance service delivery. With every new project, they raise the bar to offer only the very best to their loyal clients. James Aziz has helped to enhance their competitive edge by encouraging the staff to keep challenging themselves. They have also made a point of making the most of their strengths.

Their operations are guided by a set of core values which have ensured that they don’t stray from their true purpose. Over the years the railroad firm has won over the hearts of their clients who keep coming for more. The desire to deliver high on quality has not superseded their ability to beat deadlines. Clients do not have to worry about the late completion of projects. See This Article for more information.

For their excellence in service delivery, the firm received the ISO 9001:2008 certification. No other railcar company in North America has achieved this feat. The firm has also consistently bagged the TTX SECO award. The award is reserved for suppliers who are committed to excellence in service delivery and customer satisfaction.

Gregory J Aziz is grateful for the support that his team provides in their quest to offer the very best. The more than 2000 members have remained loyal over the years. They have demonstrated a high level of integrity that has influenced their ability to build the best. National Steel Car has also invested in lasting relationships with their suppliers.

They have shown no signs of slowing down. Their commitment to excellence is still strong. The North American railcar company will bank on what they have built over the years to keep their services a step ahead of their competition. Rather than basking in past glory, Greg James Aziz is looking to reach to new heights in the car engineering and manufacturing industry.